Method of constructing reinforced-concrete hulls for boats, &amp;c.



R. A. CUIVIIVIINGS. METHOD 0F CONSTRUCTING REINFORCED CONCRETE HULLS FOR BOATS, 62e.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28. l9l8. 1,278,1 1 1, Patented sept. 10,1918.

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ROBERT A. CUMMINGS, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING REINFORCED-CONCRETE HULLS FOR BOATS,l &G.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 10, 19.118.

Original application filed May 20, 1918, Serial No. 235,561. Divided and this application filed June 28, 1918. Serial No. 242,393.

To all whom t mag/concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT A. CUMMiNGs, a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Methods of Constructing Reinforced-Concrete Hulls for Boats, &c., of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to casting or constructing reinforced concrete structures which are composed ofl or include a thin shell or sheathing of large area. The present application is in part a division of my application led May 20, 1918, Serial No. 235,561.

The object of the invention is to provide a method of! casting such structures whereby the cost, as compared with existing methods, is much reduced, and by means of which a thin shell or sheathing can be cast or poured monolithically or not and can be made thinner than has heretoforerbeen possible and of any desired thickness and at the same time be of uniform density throughout.

rlfhe invention is applicableto the casting or pouring ofl various structures comprising or including relatively thin shell or sheathing portions, such as the hulls of boats, barges and the like, bins, tanks and vats for various purposes, the facing or outside sheathing` of walls, and the like.

In the casting of hulls for concrete boats, barges and the like, bins, tanks and other struct-ures having thin walls, it is the practice to build up forms or molds of wood or metal in the form and position of the tinishedv structure, with the metallic reinforcement contained in such. formsA or molds, and then pour the concrete thereinto. VSince concrete can not be poured or rammed eectively in a very narrow form or mold, it is necessary to make the shells of such structures of considerable thickness in order to provide the necessary Vspace for efficiently pouring or ramming the concrete thereinto, and', since, .for certain uses,l such for instance for the hulls of boats, barges, and the like, theshells must be kept reasonably thin in order, to avoid excessive weight, it frequently happens that the density. of. the

concrete shell is not uniform throughout, but spots occur` in which the concrete is loose and porous. Furthermore, on account of the narrow or restricted space in the` forms or molds, it has not been found reliable to cast such thinV concrete shells to a height of' more than a few feet at a single pour-ing, and then build up a further section. of form or mold, pour this, and so on until the structure is completed. The building of these for-ms or molds is expensive and on account of having topourthe structure in sections, as described, the process is quite slow, and, also, the resultant structure throughout.

These objections. are overcome by the present; method, in which forms or molds are substantially entirely.. dispensedr with and a thin shell or sheathing of more .uni-

form density and. structurethroughout andof thinner section: is produced. This is accomplished by castin-g the various parts in separate sections, in horizontal position, with the reinforcement projecting beyond edges of said sections, and after the sec tions have set, moving the sections which are to constitute inclined orv vertical portions of the structure, into proper position relative to each other and to the sections whichare to remain, in horizontal position, thereby bringing the unembedded projecting portions of the reinforcement on contiguous edgesof adjacent sections intoposition to be united, and then castingin or otherwise closing the joints or angles,

In the accompanying drawings. the method is illustrated, more particularly for the casting of the hulls of boats, barges, and the like, but it will be imderstood that this is merely illustrative of one application thereof, and that the method can be adapted for the casting of any other structure having thin shells or sheathings, such as before enumerated.

In the drawings, Figure l isa plan viewk showing diagrammatically one manner of casting. the bottom, sides andil ends of a boat according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a dia-. grammatic sectionalV View illustrating4 one mannerl of positioning. theI side* or vertical.

is not uniform.

portions relative to the bottom, at the inidship portion of the boat, approximately on the lino Fig. 1, preparatory to closing the angles or joints; Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the .method of forming the bow portion of the boat, approximately on the line 3 3. Fig. 1; Figs. l, 5, 6 and T are detail sectional views showing several ways of forming the joint or angle connecting the bottom with one of the side sect-ions.

Figs. 1 and illustrate in a .liagrannnatic way the application. of the method in forming a relatively simple form of hull for a boat havingl a substantially tlat bottom and relatively vertical sides and ends. :in forming such structures according to the present invention the various parts are formed separately in sections. each section being` as large as feasible and still be substantially plain or with only such curvatures as make it possible to cast and handle. ln the construction illust "ated, the bottom 1 is substautialljY flat,y the mid-ship side portions 2 are substantially straight or curved only to such extent as to permit their being cast in a single section. while the stern and bow side portions 2, 2" are curved, and stern end portion is suliistautially fiat. Each of these sections is cast as a separate unit and in substantially horizontal position, upon suitable casting j ilatforins or tables comprising a stationary platform for the bottom, and movable tiltable platforms (i, 6, t3" and 7 for the side and end sections. These various platforms can be located in an)v suitable positions relative to each other, but preferably are so located that the various sections will be in their proper positional relationl to each other, in order to reduce to a minimum the distance the various movable sections must be moved when assembling. ln castingl the sections reinforcing bars S of Suitable size and number and properly arranged to take care of the stresses` are positioned upon the casting j'ilatforms, and narrow vertical mold members 9 are erected upon the platforms to define and form the edges of the various sections being cast. rlhe ends of the reinforced bars are allowed to project beyond these edge portions. or short dowel rods may be 'ast in the concrete so as to pioject or protrude lieyond. the edges thereof. After the reinforcing bars are properly positioned On the platforms. the concrete is poured in place and can. be smoothed and tan'iped down with the usual instruments without the use of forms or mold sections beyond the use of the vertical im-mibers 9. as a consequence the several sections can be cast of a minimum thickness and in a manner to assure equal. density and. uniformity in structure throughout.

These east sections are then allowed to remain in the position4 in which cast until the concrete has thoroughly set. rfhen the casting platfornis on which the relatively vertical. sections are cast are lifted at their outer edge and. moved into such positionsl as to bring their inner edges into proper positional relation with reference to the corresponding edge of the bottom. For this purpose the castii'lg platforms (3, t3, t3" and T are themselves made movable and provided with suitable means for the attachment of lifting means thereto. lt will be found convenient to hare these platforns hinged at their inner edges, as indicated at 15, Fig. 2, and have their outer edges provided with suitable means for attaching thereto cables 16, or the like, running to derriclts or other means by which, through the cables 16. the outer edges of the sections G, 6"-, 6b and T can be lifted to bringthe side and end sections 2. Q, 2" and 8 to their proper position, either verticil or inclined, as the case may be, and bring the protrinling ends of the reinforcement members of these sections into unitable relation. to the corresponding ends of the protrudingl reinforcement of the bottom, so that a suitable union can be made between the same, and the joints between the various sections closed in a suitable way.

rfhe projecting ends of the reinforcement can be united in rarious ways, either before or after the vertical sections are lifted to their proper position. llVhen the several sections are cast in. proper contiguous relation to each other. as shown in Figs. l and 2. and the corresponding edges of the bottom are aj'iproxilnately straight, the projecting ends of the reinforcement can be interloclted while the sections are still in horizontal position, such by providing said projecting ends with hook portions, as indicated at 19, Fig. 4.

ll hen it is inconvenient to east the section in proper contiguous relation, or in the event that the joints between the bottom and side portions are materially curved, itI will be necessary to first lift the side and end portions to their proper positions before uniting the projecting` ends of the rei nforcements. ln such case these projecting ends will be initially bent to their final form. as shown in Fig. Q and at 20, Fig. and when ther sections are brought into their proper relation these projecting ends may be united either by welding,y as indicated at 1S, Fig. or b v interlocking the same in the manner `shown in Fig. 4; or said projecting ends may merely be caused to overlap each other, as indicated at QQ, Fig. 7. and the union formed by the concrete cast into the joint.

llthiehever method is followed. after the sections are properly positioned and the projecting ends of the reinforcement either united by welding or interlociied or merely assembled in interlaced relation to each other, the joint isA then closed. rPhis is conveniently done by building underneath this joint a suitable mold` as shown at 242, Fig. G, and then casting concrete into the joint, as shown at: 25, thus unitingfthe bottom to the sides and ends and embedding the` formerly projecting portions of the reinforcement.

In a similar Way Where Athe ends of the side sections 2, 2 and '2b' come together, the horizontal reinforcement in these sections projecting beyond the ends thereof, are either united, interloeked or interlaced, and molds or forms are built up underneath the same, and the oint then closed, preferably by pouring concrete into the same.

1n building up a hull in the manner described, it can be provided with a keel 26 and suitable transverse or longitudinal, or both, reinforcing frame or rib members, such as shown at 27, and also with thickened and strengthened gumvales as shown at 28, without in the least modifying the method.

The result is a structure ,of reinforced concrete of minimum thickness and substantially uniform density of structure throughout, formed Without the necessity of building expensive forms or molds. The casting platforms obviously may be made of permanent construction and used for casting any other structures of the same form.

The method can obviously be adapted for the casting of any hull, either of a plain barge type, or one in which the complete sides cannot be formed at one time, by merely dividing the sides into such number of sections as will permit each section to be cast on a substantially plane platform or one W ich has only such a curvature or concavity as Will permit proper positioning of the reinforcement and the casting of the concrete. The method obviously Will be modified depending on the shape, size and other conditions of the structure to be built. it is much more economical than the methods now in vogue for building similar structures, as it does not require the use and Waste of a large amount of lumber and timber for forming molds, and enables the shell or sheath to be made thinner than heretofore possible, thus not only saving weight, but saving material and thus adding to the economy of the method, and at the same time insures a struct-ure of uniform density throughout. It is also much more expeditious than prior methods.

I claim:

1. The method of constructing reinforced concrete structures of thin section and large area, consisting in casting the same in sections separately and in substantially horizontal position With reinforcement projecting beyond edges thereof, moving some of said sections and positioning them relative and end sectionV 3" to others with theprojecting reinforcement in interconnecting relation, and then closing the joints or'angles.

2. r1`=he-method of constructing reinforced concrete structures off-thin section and large area, consisting in casting the same in sections separately and inv substantially hori- Zent-ali` position With reinforcement projecting beyond edges thereof, moving someof said sections and positioning them relative to others, connecting the projecting reinforcement of adjacent sections, and then closing the joints or angles.

3. The method of constructing reinforced concrete structures of thin section and large area, consisting in casting the same in sections separately and in substantially horizontal position With reinforcement projecting beyond edges thereof, moving some of said sections and positioning them relative to others, uniting the projecting reinforcement of adjacent sections, and then closing the joints or angles.

t. The method of constructing reinforced concrete structures of thin section and large area, consisting in casting the same in sections separately and in substantially horizontal position with reinforcement projecting beyond edges thereof, moving some of said sections and positioning them relative to others with the projecting reinforcement in inter-connecting relation, and then casting in the joints or angles and thereby closing the same and embedding the projecting reinforcement.

5. The method of constructing reinforced concrete structures of thin section and large area, consisting in casting the same in sections separately and in substantially horizontal position With reinforcement projecting from edges of said sections, moving some of said sections and positioning them relative to others and bringing the projecting reinforcments of adjacent sections into connecting relation, uniting said projecting reinforcements, and then casting in the joints or angles and thereby closing the joints and embedding said protruding reinforcement.

6. The method of constructing reinforced concrete structures of thin section and largel area, consisting in casting the same in sections separately and in substantially hori- Zontal position with reinforcement projecting from some edges of said sections and bent from the plane thereof, moving some of said sections and positioning them relative to others and thereby bringing said reinforcement into inter-connecting relation, and then casting in the joints or angles and vthereby closing the same and embedding said projecting reinforcement.

7 The method of constructing reinforced concrete structures of thin section and large area, consisting in casting the same in section separately and in substantially horizontzil position with reinforcement eXtendand embedding the projecting reinforceing into the SpiiCeS between Sections and in nient. l0 inter-Conneeting` relation to each other, iift- In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set ing` Sonie ot' said sections and rotating thenl my handu about their edges contiguous to adjacent seo- V 1 i `i tions and thereby positioning` Suid sections ROBLR A' (JUMMING' relative to each other, and then casting in the Witness: joints or angles and thereby closing the saine GLENN H. LERESGHE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for tive cents each, by addressing; the Commissioner of '.Patents, Washington, D. 1D. 

